To the Black Sea

7

June 2022

Thrown for a Curve

A second step, a leap forward

Reader Built Boat alumni Joe Lanni is back with his second boatbuilding project, an 11′ plywood double-paddle canoe

12

May 2022

A Take-Apart Boat Cart

An interlocking plywood frame for hand-truck wheels

A pair of hand-truck wheels, some bits of ¾” plywood and a steel axle are about all that’s needed to make a small-boat cart that comes apart for easy storage on board.

7

Small Boats Annual 2023May 2022

Little Crab

Doug Hylan’s 13’ V-Bottomed Skiff for Sail and Oar

The Little Crab is a 13’ flat-bottomed skiff by Doug Hylan to serve as a tender to a yacht, a weekend camp-cruiser for two, or a boat for exploring protected waters under oar and sail.

6

Small Boats Annual 2023May 2022

The Six-Hour Canoe

An easily built 15' double-blade plywood canoe

Designed by Mike O'Brien in 1977 to put two extra sheets of plywood to good use, the Six-Hour Canoe has been an introduction to boatbuilding and boating for thousands.

14

May 2022

Pond Island

A dinghy built for two

A September weekend cruise from Bass Harbor to Pond Island aboard an 11′ sail-and-oar dinghy made a pleasant Maine-Coast getaway for two.

4

May 2022

7 Seas 3-Eye Sneaker

A flexible boat shoe from Sperry

Sperry’s boating sneaker has scuppers and hydrophobic uppers to speed drying, 360° lacing that provides a snug fit at the heel, and a siped rubber sole for a sure grip on wet surfaces.

2

May 2022

TotalFair

Quick and easy epoxy fairing compound

TotalBoat’s two-part marine epoxy fairing compound isn’t fussy about mixing, goes on smoothly, and sands easily.

10

May 2022

The Education of a Serial Boatbuilder

When the work is its own reward

A Florida man confesses he’d rather build boats than go boating. With a half-dozen boats in his largely unused fleet, he’s running out of room to keep them.

Small Boats Annual 2011

JANE ANN

A traditional daysailer

This 18’ cat-ketch, designed by Connecticut-based naval architect Rob Pittaway for New England’s coastal waters, is equally at home on the Great Lakes or inland waters, under sail, auxiliary outboard power, or oars.

Small Boats Annual 2011

Sailing Surf Dory

A great all-around performer from Lowell’s Boat Shop

A comparatively round-sided dory, the Sailing Surf Dory handles well under sail or oars. This boat is a 14-footer, and Lowell’s Boat Shop in Amesbury, Massachusetts, also builds 16’, 18’, and 20’ versions.

Small Boats Annual 2011

Townsend Tern

A small cruiser full of ideas and innovations

For a 23’6” boat, the Townsend Tern packs in plenty of the necessities of life for a cruising couple. She is designed to be simple to sail singlehanded, with unstayed carbon-fiber masts that are hinged at the tabernacles to make them easy to lower for trailering.

Small Boats Annual 2011

Small Boat Details

A gallery of ideas to improve your small boat

Small boats provide endless opportunity for innovative thinking. We've prowled the waterfront seeking clever and aesthetically pleasing solutions to some of the common problems posed by small boats: how to rig them, how to move them, how to stow gear aboard them, how to steer them, and how to live comfortably aboard them.

6

Small Boats Annual 2023April 2022

Hunky Dory

A beach-launched outboard fishing skiff

Patterned after the outboard dory skiffs of the Oregon Coast, Glen-L’s Hunky Dory has a wide flat bottom and an upturned bow, features that make it possible to launch from a broad sandy beach and safely negotiate the surf zone.

6

April 2022

La Paz

A plywood deep-V sportfisher

Glen-L’s La Paz is a center-console sportfishing boat with a deep-V hull that smooths the ride in rough water. The 100-gallon fuel tank under the cockpit sole gives the boat enough range to reach far-flung fishing holes.

13

April 2022

Umbagog Lake

Paddling in the Great North Woods of New Hampshire and Maine

Umbagog Lake straddles the north end of the New Hampshire/Maine border in the midst of the Great North Woods. Tom DeVries and company take us on a paddling tour of the lake with a freight canoe and two homebuilt sea kayaks.

5

April 2022

A Small-Boat Chart Holder

Taming Paper in an Open Boat

While electronic navigation devices are exceptionally useful, there are still good reasons for carrying a printed chart. A simple homemade holder protects charts and make them easier to use on an open boat.

4

April 2022

Boat Medic

Waterproof first-aid for the backcountry

Accidents happen. If they result in an injury when you’re far from medical care, a good first-aid kit is essential. The Boat Medic kit from MyMedic is well stocked and packed in a durable waterproof case.

3

April 2022

DeWalt 20v Random-Orbit Sander

Cordless power in your palm

Anyone building a wooden boat is in for a lot of sanding, so it makes good sense to use a sander that is efficient and convenient. DeWalt’s cordless random-orbit sander quickens the otherwise tedious work.

5

April 2022

LAZY LIGHTNING

An electrically adorned strip-built kayak

When Dave Feder built his first boat—a cedar-strip kayak—he wanted to give it some personal artistic touches and did what any other electrical engineer might do. He had high-voltage electricity do the work.

Small Boats Annual 2011

Ocean Pointer

An updated legend

The David Stimson–designed Ocean Pointer, a 19 1⁄2' center-console outboard skiff, stands on the broad shoulders of a long Maine tradition.

Small Boats Annual 2011

The PT Skiff

Seakindly and fuel-efficient

The fuel-efficient PT Skiff handles well under a range of conditions and speeds, can carry a load, and moves well with just a 20-hp outboard.

5

Small Boats Annual 2010

DN 60 Iceboat

A tinkerer’s dream

America’s Great Depression was in full swing in the mid-1930s when The Detroit News held a design competition for a simple, inexpensive racing iceboat that could be built in a garage or basement workshop, and be easily transported on top of a car. The result was a 12' craft that appealed to Detroiters looking for an affordable diversion from their…

Small Boats Annual 2010

The Beachcomber-Alpha Dory

A classic racer from Marblehead, Massachusetts

Small-boat designer and builder Daniel Noyes launched his Beachcomber-Alpha dory—with some alterations—in 2008 as a kind of tribute to maritime historian John Gardner. John Gardner drew his lines for the Beachcomber-Alpha dory in the early 1970s.

7

Small Boats Annual 2023March 2022

Handy Billy

An outboard out of sight

Handy Billy, Harry Bryan’s V-bottom launch, has classic lines inspired by William Hand’s deep-V inboards of the early 1900s but gets its power from a modern 4-stroke 25-hp outboard. Concealed by a housing over the motorwell, the outboard is hidden from view and as quiet as it can be.

8

Small Boats Annual 2023March 2022

Colonia Dinghy

A 17' daysailer from N. G. Herreshoff

In 1901, N. G. Herreshoff designed a 17’ sailing dinghy for the steam yacht COLONIA. The boat proved successful, and 36 more Colonia dinghies were built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company. Sea trials aboard a 1975 copy suggest the design would be well worth reviving.

Series

Thrown for a Curve

A Take-Apart Boat Cart

Little Crab

The Six-Hour Canoe

Pond Island

7 Seas 3-Eye Sneaker

TotalFair

The Education of a Serial Boatbuilder

JANE ANN

Sailing Surf Dory

Townsend Tern

Small Boat Details

Hunky Dory

La Paz

Umbagog Lake

A Small-Boat Chart Holder

Boat Medic

DeWalt 20v Random-Orbit Sander

LAZY LIGHTNING

Ocean Pointer

The PT Skiff

DN 60 Iceboat

The Beachcomber-Alpha Dory

Handy Billy

Colonia Dinghy

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